The central aim of this project is to examine how the psychological effects of the different life circumstances faced at different stages of their life course by people in various positions in the social hierarchy help explain the differences found in their psychological functioning. The most important accomplishment this year has been the completion of an examination of how supportive and controlling parental behavior may affect aspects of children's psychological functioning. The results generally support the hypotheses, derived from the Laboratory's research program, that controlling parental behavior decreases children's self- directedness and intellectual flexibility and increases their distress, while supportive parental behavior has opposite effects.